Tag: blissology yoga teacher

This is Day 9 of our two weeks to Commit to Bliss. The Blissology Project will run from Monday, January 22nd until Sunday, February 4th 2018.

It is all about making happiness a habit and creating an Upward Spiral of positivity in our lives through the 6 Big Easy Bliss Commitments.

We hope you’re feeling supercharged after the Happy Belly Green Smoothie and from getting clear on how you can serve the world through your Life Mission in Day 8. Let’s carry these positive vibes and purpose forward today!

*Note: We realize these are some challenging poses! Do your best with where your practice is today. If you can’t perform the full expression of one of the poses then insert a pose that feels good in your body.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtags #blissologyproject + #blissarmy + #upwardspiral

Meditation

Centre your mind in a few short minutes with Blissologist Rhyanna Watson in her Calm Your Mindmeditation.

Nature Appreciation

Watch the sun as it rises. Even if it’s overcast take your coffee or tea for an early morning walk while you watch the day wake up!

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #natureappreciation

Food Awareness

Warm Breakfast Grains:

This is a simple recipe for using up leftover whole grains. You can use brown rice, basmati rice, barley, quinoa or even cooked amaranth here.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked grains

1 cup milk (cow or soy or almond)

¼ cup raisins

¼ – ½ tsp cinnamon (cinnamon warms up the body so use less if you run hot).

1 tsp toasted sunflower seeds

Raw honey

Method:

Mix ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook until hot on medium heat.

This is delicious with some added ghee, coconut oil or honey. Top with toasted sunflower seeds for a boost of potassium and zinc.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #highpranafood

Gratitude

Go on Facebook and find out which of your friends is celebrating a birthday today or very soon. Send them a quick message to wish them Happy Birthday and tell them one reason why you’re grateful to have them in your life.

Wild Card

Practice some Eco Karma. Spend 5 minutes of your day picking up trash outside. You can even do it in the morning on your Sunrise Walk!

*Note: We realize these are some challenging poses! Do your best with where your practice is today. If you can’t do Side Crow then insert a pose of your choice that feels good in your body.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtags #blissologyproject + #blissarmy + #upwardspiral

Meditation and Nature Appreciation

Take yourself on a date to your favourite spot out in nature. Find a space to sit down and close your eyes. Allow your senses to take in the subtle sensations of the natural world all around you: the sound of birds, wind against the trees, water lapping against the shore.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #natureappreciation

Send a text to 3 people you’re grateful for in your life. Tell them how they’ve affected your life in a positive way.

Wild Card

Proclaim your spirit animal. What animal do you feel most connected to at this moment in your life. Do you love ocean water? Maybe you’re a Dolphin. What about looking up at the clouds and daydreaming about flying? Perhaps you’re an Eagle.

Look at the stars. Take a few minutes to really absorb the grand nature of the universe and the influence it has in your life. Contemplate the notion that we are all born of stardust.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #natureappreciation

Food Awareness

Healing Ayurvedic Dal

This is a very simple recipe, one I grew up eating almost daily in India. Do not be alarmed by the spices. There are two stages to cooking dal. In the first, you cook the lentils with a few spices until soft. Then you heat oil to make a tempering, which adds flavor to the cooked lentils. I’ve offered some more suggestions to get creative as well. I will add that dal should not be a gloppy mush, which is something I’ve encountered in many places in the west. It should be soupy and thin and be able to be poured easily over rice. With the combination of grains and lentils, this is a complete, whole food and I hope you find it delicious.

a pinch of asafoetida powder (this is an ingredient you can find at an Indian market or an ayurvedic market)

5 – 6 curry leaves

2 green chiles (if you don’t mind a little spice).

Rinse the lentils well, until water runs clean. Cook in water along with turmeric and fenugreek until it reaches a soft consistency. Blend until mostly smooth. You can also use a potato masher to soften the dal more.

In a separate wok or frying pan, heat the ghee or oil for the tempering, which is what adds flavor to the dal.

Add the cumin and as it crackles, the asafoetida, curry leaves and chiles.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cooked dal and salt. Add some water so the dal reaches a soupy consistency. Allow it to simmer for 5 – 6 minutes.

Remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve fresh along some cooked basmati or brown rice and a small green salad..

A few other suggestions:

You can add some sliced onion at the tempering stage, along with some thinly sliced ginger and garlic and let this mixture cook with the cumin and tempering spices for a few minutes before adding the cooked lentils. You can also add some fresh spinach leaves to this dal. Add them when the dal is very hot, before you take it off the stove. A lovely accompaniment to this dal is a lightly dressed green salad with fresh radishes and grated carrots etc.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #highpranafood

Gratitude

Practice saying, “Thank you!” As you go about your day offer thanks to people any chance you have. Thank your bus driver. Give thanks to your partner for folding the laundry. The possibilities to offer thanks are limitless!

Wild Card

Plant something today and name your plant. If the ground is too cold go out and buy a new house plant to bring some positive vibes into your life.

Go for a run, ride your bike, surf some waves or do anything out in the natural world where you get your sweat on and feel more connected to the environment all around you.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #natureappreciation

Food Awareness

Eggs + Kale + Avo:

This is a filling, hearty breakfast with good fats and greens when you have a little more time and are craving something savory.

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch kale, stemmed and leaves torn into shreds

2 organic eggs

½ avocado

lemon juice

cold pressed extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

sesame seeds

sea salt or Himalayan pink salt

Prepare the Avocado. Peel and slice. Sprinkle with lemon juice and a bit of salt.

Boil water in a large pot. Add kale shreds into the boiling water and let simmer for approx. 3 – 5 minutes. Kale should look bright green but wilted. Drain and let sit in the warm pot while you prepare the eggs.

This recipe tastes great with either poached or scrambled eggs. To poach, boil water in another small saucepan. Bring to boil. Add a ½ tsp of vinegar like apple cider vinegar. Swirl the water quickly to make a whirlpool effect and add in the egg to poach. Watch it carefully. You may poach the eggs for 5 – 7 minutes or until done. To remove, use a slotted spoon.

For scrambled eggs: beat the eggs lightly in a bowl. Add milk if you would like and perhaps a pinch of thyme or rosemary. Pour into a pan on medium heat. Gently stir the eggs from the edges of the pan to the center a few times to create large, soft egg curds 5 minutes or so. Watch carefully as you don’t want to overcook the eggs.

To serve. Place cooked greens on your plate, top with the eggs and avocado and garnish with sesame seeds, salt to taste and black pepper. You can also add a light drizzle of olive oil.

If you are craving toast with this meal, use a whole grain sourdough bread, one without added yeast, or added gluten.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #highpranafood

Gratitude

While outside during your nature appreciation time notice three things in the natural world you’re grateful for that enhance your experience in that moment.

Wild Card

Forgive someone. Is there someone in your life who you have unresolved energy with? Give them a call or visit them to confront what has come between you. Notice how much more lighter you will feel afterwards.

Gently wash, drain and rinse the cauliflower, then break it into medium sized florets using clean hands or a knife. Discard hard bits of the white stalks, but keep the tender ones, chopping them into 1/4 inch pieces.

Use the white portion of the leeks. Save the green stalk ends in a freezer bag or box for making stock in the future. Slice the leeks lengthwise first into half, then chop into half-moons. Wash leeks well in a bowl of water.

Peel and slice the garlic into halves.

Bake:

Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Scatter vegetables in a single layer,drizzle with oil, add some salt, pepper and that pinch of turmeric, as well as any other herbs you might like to use.

Place the tray onto the middle rack of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Check vegetables for softness and if needed roast for approx. 10 minutes longer.

Remove tray from the oven, let the vegetables cool slightly.

Blend:

To make the soup, pour the veggies and chicken broth into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth in two stages, so the blender does not overfill. You can also use an immersion blender in a soup pot. Add more water if needed to liquefy the soup to a consistency you like, 1 cup should do it.

Enjoy:

Taste the soup and serve in a bowl, topped with toasted black or white sesame seeds for extra minerals and a toasty crunch.

Don’t forget to share any photos on social media using hashtag #blissologyproject + #highpranafood

Gratitude

Take three things in your life you’re not excited about and reprogram your thoughts to be grateful. Example: If you’re not excited to work full time this week say to yourself, “I am grateful I have a job to go to that creates abundance in my life for myself and my family.”

Wild Card

Pay for someone’s coffee. Brighten someone’s day with your generosity and see how it comes back to you in other ways!

Fire only burns as bright as there are flames to continue keeping it alive. Our Blissology Yoga Teacher’s Collective is burning bright and we are so excited to share the first of our Bliss Blogs on some of the amazing spirits and shining lights who are continuing to speak, connect and inspire their Bliss.

Where in the world can we find you? Hood River, OR (in the Columbia River Gorge one hour from Portland).

What studio do you teach at? (your schedule please!) Root Down Yoga. I currently teach 5 classes a week, including power vinyasa and a slower flow called “Unwind.” You can find schedule details at gorgepoweryoga.com

What is your life mission? To inspire presence and courage to make meaningful connections with each other and nature.

What are 3 projects that you are up to? 1) Learning to surf a shortboard. It is so humbling and a constant reminder of the importance of balancing effort and surrender. 2) Converting a van my husband and I just purchased into a mobile camper for snowboard and surf missions (see Project 1!) 3) Developing a yoga class series for victims of trauma (to be co-led with a friend who is a mental health counselor).

What does Blissology mean to you? So much more than yoga! It’s recognizing the possibility of peace and happiness in each of us, and an approach for connecting to that peace and happiness through mindful, intentional living – the asana is simply part of that approach. And importantly it’s not just a “close your eyes and find zen” philosophy; Blissology celebrates interconnection, not isolation.

What are 2 of your favorite songs for yoga? Finding and choosing music for class is an aspect of teaching I really enjoy. I discovered East Forest when he played for Eoin’s class at Wanderlust and his work is fantastic (especially live!). I use Toad Lick often, but he has countless other songs perfect for a more mellow mood and savasana. Another current favorite for vinyasa is Blood Flow by Ritual.

What books are you reading? I’m in the midst of re-reading two favorites. The Fear Project by Jamal Yogis is a really interesting examination of the ways we experience and overcome fear (with an emphasis in the context of surfing). The other is fiction: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra. It’s a beautifully written heartbreaker about the power of love.

Why do you yoga? When I first came to yoga I was a stressed-out attorney and my mat was my escape and way to find calm and grounding. As my practice and lifestyle have evolved (I no longer practice law), I see the calm and centeredness as my true nature, not just a fleeting feeling I only experience for hour-long pockets of time. So I yoga regularly to stay in touch with that essence. That gives me greater clarity about myself and others, and then I’m in a mindset to really appreciate what I’m doing and what’s around me, be it riding powder through trees on my snowboard or walking my dog in the rain. I can see the practice ripple out in my relationships and I value how powerful it is.

How do you share Blissology with your community? Through my practice and my teaching, which are both very Blissology-inspired. I’m lucky to live in a place where nature appreciation is easy – when we find tadasana in class we can actually look at a mountain, and feel fluidity in our movement like the river that flows before us. And I really try to foster a Blissology vibe in class – we laugh, smile, high five and appreciate who we’re practicing alongside.